Afloat Plan Home vs AIS Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Afloat Plan Home
This app allows water sports enthusiasts to submit a plan for their activity, including details about their watercraft and emergency contacts. It tracks your location and sends alerts if you don't return on time, with offline capabilities and a first aid guide.
- Submit float plans via text
- Watercraft description
- Emergency contact notifications
- 10-minute location tracking
- Offline GPS data archiving
- SOS eVDSD signal control
- On-water first aid guide
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Afloat Plan Home for anyone who boats, kayaks, canoes, jet skis, or paddles Purpose: To submit a plan while recreating on the water. Let others know you arrived home safely. Have someone search for you if you don’t come back. Submit via text message all the details of your planned water sports activity. Choose 5 contacts to receive a description of your boat, kayak, jet ski, paddleboard, or canoe. Setting up the app is easy, and you only do it once. • Enter your name, address, phone number, and contact information. • Complete the description of your watercraft—hull numbers, registration, size, and colors. • List your emergency contacts so they are contacted if you are late and do not end your trip. File a float plan in just a few easy steps. Type in your starting location, what your destination is, and what the arrival or return time are. When you push submit, it sends a description of your watercraft, with your starting location and a Google map link, to your contacts. During the course of your activity, your location will be captured every 10 minutes and stored in the cloud. The app continues to acquire your GPS location via satellite and track your trip even when you are out of LTE range. When you are out of range, trip location data is archived locally on your smartphone or tablet. As soon as you reenter LTE range, your offline trip locations are synchronized with the cloud. In the event you don’t end your trip at the scheduled time, the app will send a notification for you to end your trip. After 15 minutes, it will remind you again to end your trip. If after 30 minutes you have not ended the trip, the app will send your trip map to your contacts with route information and your last known location. If you have a Sirius Signal model C-1002 SOS eVDSD, you can test and turn on your signal remotely. The app also shows the light’s battery status. The app also includes an offline interactive looped audio first aid treatment guide for common on-water emergencies.
AIS Explorer
Track ships and yachts globally in real-time with advanced satellite and terrestrial AIS receivers. Offers vessel search, favorites, port of call details, and integrated weather forecasts with routing for ETAs. Provides comprehensive satellite AIS data.
- Real-time Satellite AIS
- Real-time Terrestrial AIS
- Search Vessels
- Save To Favourites
- Last Port of Call
- Advanced Weather Forecasts
- Weather Routing - ETA
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AIS Explorer displays real-time positions and movement of Ships and Yachts anywhere in the world, using the most advanced satellite and terrestrial receivers. The best pricing for the most comprehensive Satellite AIS available. Try it Now! - Search Vessels - Save To Favourites - Real-Time Satellite AIS - Real-Time Terrestrial AIS - Vessel Types - Last Port of Call - Advanced Weather Forecasts From PredictWind - Weather Routing - ETA Terms & Conditions: https://www.aisexplorerapp.com/en/terms-and-conditions Privacy Policy: https://www.aisexplorerapp.com/en/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: AIS Explorer at 5.0 against Afloat Plan Home's 3.3. Afloat Plan Home's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. AIS Explorer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $49.00 per month. Afloat Plan Home asks for nothing beyond the download.
AIS Explorer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Afloat Plan Home has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Afloat Plan Home ships an update every 2 months, AIS Explorer monthly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Afloat Plan Home | AIS Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sirius Signal, LLC | PredictWind Limited |
Customer experience
Afloat Plan Home
AIS Explorer
In-app purchases
Afloat Plan Home
No in-app purchases
AIS Explorer
- AIS Pro monthly$49.001 Month
- AIS Pro 3 monthly14 Days trial$99.003 Months
- AIS Pro Annual$249.001 Year
Questions
Is Afloat Plan Home free?
Is AIS Explorer free?
Which has better reviews, Afloat Plan Home or AIS Explorer?
Do Afloat Plan Home or AIS Explorer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Afloat Plan Home or AIS Explorer?
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